18.06.2014 1

Role of Biomass and Biogas

For Agro-Municipal Development in the Danube Region

Research activities in Bioenergy at BOKU

Andreas Gronauer (Institute of Agricultural Engineering)

Christian Aschauer (Institute of Agricultural Engineering)

Alexander Bauer (Institute of Agricultural Engineering)

Gerhard Piringer (Institute of Agricultural Engineering)

Tobias Pröll (Institute of Chemical and Energy Engineering)

Chritoph Pfeifer (Institute of Chemical and Energy Engineering)

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

Scientific Support to the Danube Strategy

Danube Bioenergy Nexus

24th-26th June 2014, Vienna

Institute of Agricultural Engineering Strategy: Sustainable crop production systems

Crop cultivation

Harvest

Main products

Crop residues retrieval &

size reduction

Preservation & storage

Preparation & pretreatment

Fiber & fuel production fertilizer

food, feed

Sust

ain

able

so

il m

anag

em

en

t (h

um

us)

Dev

elop

men

t an

d ve

rific

atio

n of

tech

nolo

gies

Eva

luat

ion

of te

chno

logi

es (

econ

omy

+ L

CA

)

Working fields of the institute: Process chain oriented

3

Process

Crop cultivation Harvest

Straw retrieval

Preservation Preparation

pretreatment

Pro

ce

du

re

A) Precision farming,

mechatronic

A) Standard picking

attachment for silage

maize

A) Combined straw

retrieval: forage trailer

with cutting unit in

conveyor duct

Silage prepartion in flat

silo and bales, drying

Untreatet straw

B) Logistics, ICT

B) Cob picking

attachment with straw

collector at the bottom

B) Straw retrieval using

forage harvester and

transport of straw with

several vehicles

Pretreated straw

Pa

ram

ete

rs - Sensor technology

- Control engineering

- Data management

- Semantics/ontology

- Operationg cost

- LCA

- Harvesting performance

- Energy requirement

- Labor requirement

- Operating cost

- LCA

- Retrieval performance

- Energy requirement

- Labor requirement

- Operating cost

- LCA

- Ensilage performance

- Energy requirement

- Labor requirement

- Quality of silage

- Operating cost

- LCA

- Throughput

- Shredding or defibration

- Biogas / methane yield

- Energy requirement

- Labor requirement

- Operating cost

- LCA

Status quo: Raw materials for biogas production

Current developments in energy prices

(electricity and heat):

Trend: short term

Trend: long term

Development of food and feed price indexes

Trend:

Demand for biomass for material use

Trend:

4

Energy crops

18.06.2014

First research/development need: Sustainable and suitable raw materials for

bioenergy production

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Energy crops Agricultural residues Municipal / industrial residues

Second research/development need: Differentiated approach to potentials

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Theoretical potential: Total accumulated

biomass (residues, farm fertilizers)

Technical potential: The share of the

theoretical potential that can be harvested

using the best available technology

Economic potential: The share of the

technical potential that is economically

feasible to harvest.

Ecological potential: The share of biomass

that can be removed, while still leaving

enough biomass to ensure soil fertility.

Social potential: Ensuring sustainable

development in rural areas.

Second research/development need: Technical potential of agricultural residues?

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Austria: Europe:

straw: 2.4 million t DM a-1 131 million t DM a-1

manure: 2.5 million t DM a-1 203 million t DM a-1

Cereal straw

21%

Maize stover

25%

Rapeseed straw

2%

Sunflower straw

2%

Farm fertilizers

50%

Cereal straw 23%

Maize stover 9%

Rapeseed straw 4%

Sunflower straw 3%

Farm fertilizers

61%

Second research/development need: Potentials in Europe (agricultural residues and

open questions)

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Grain-Straw Ratio

Wheat 0.6 - 1.8

Barley 0.9 - 1.8

Oats 1.0 - 2.0

Rye 1.75

Maize 0.7 - 2.0

Sunflower 1.0 - 3.0

Rapeseed 1.1 - 1.7

Rice 0.8 - 2.3

Third research/development need: Pretreatment technologies: e.g. steam explosion of wheat straw for anaerobic digestion

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0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Bio

gas/M

eth

ane [

lN p

er

kg V

S]

Biogas Methane

Fourth research/development need: Sustainable soil fertility:

Inclusion of inorganic nutrients to amend soil

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Cultivation, harvest and processing

Material use (production and use)

Energetic use

Byproducts Byproducts

Reuse

or Recycling

Soil amendment

Byproducts for energetic use accumulate at all stages

Closed loops with the goal of sustainable soil management

Challenges of energetic use

a) Combustion processes: low ash melting point and corrosion problems with

agricultural biomass (relevant K and Cl contents)

Avoid low temperature processes (pyrolysis)

b) Biological processes: poor conversion of lignocellulose

Disintegration processes (thermal, enzymatic, fungal)

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Energy balance of straw pyrolysis

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Case study: 3 MWth plant Dürnrohr, Austria

Source: Kern (2010)

Straw Pyrolysis drum

550 ° C

Coke

Gas/oil export

Gas combustion chamber

Air

ECO Exhaust flue

100 %

46 %

49 %

5 %

Heating gas

Elemental mass balance of straw

pyrolysis

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Case study: 3 MWth plant Dürnrohr, Austria

Source: Kern (2010)

Working group Process engineering of

renewable raw materials

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Gasification

Liquid fuels (e.g..: diesel, methanol)

Gaseous fuels (e.g.: synthetic natural

gas)

Synthesis gas

Electricity and heat

Biomass

Hydrogen

Thermal biomass conversion

Hydrothermal carbonization

Process design for biorefineries

and polygeneration applications

Working group - Environmental Engineering

and Biorefinery

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Agricultural biomass and its byproducts:

sustainable production, harvest and storage

bioenergy production

Biorefinery systems

Harvest Storage Pretreatment

Working group - Energy technology and

energy management

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Heat grids and active off-heat use

Fluidized bed systems

CO2 capture processes

Precision farming

Process optimization by ICT

Working group - agromechatronics

and energy

Renewable Energy use for agricultural production

processes

Process optimization and reduction of energy

consumption by smart control systems

Working group - agromechatronics

and energy

19

Working group - Sustainable Systems (Life

Cycle Assessment)

Agricultural life-cycle assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of

biomass/biogas systems

LCA of Agricultural Machinery

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien

Department für Nachhaltige

Agrarsysteme

D

20

Working group - Sustainable Systems (Life

Cycle Assessment)

Research Needs for region-specific biomass LCA

Define the system – biomass plant/technologies

survey

Region-specific substrate production chains

- known/unknown?

Quantify inherent variability/uncertainty

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien

Department für Nachhaltige

Agrarsysteme

Conclusions and Outlook

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Needs for a Danube-region-specific biomass action plan

1. Evaluation of biomass potentials on local level and it´s characteristics

2. Determination of differentiated types of biomass utilization

3. Selection and adaptation of corresponding technologies with respect to

local requirements and suitability

4. Evaluation of biomass with respect to factors of sustainability

(economy, LCA)

Suggestion for a Danube-region-specific biomass action plan

1. Formation of competence network (science, NGO, GO, companies)

2. Development of a joint action plan (research, feasibility studies,

implementation, education)

3. Design of a joint project including partners along Danube river